Taiwan Stock Market May Add To Its Winnings

(RTTNews) - The Taiwan stock market has moved higher in three straight sessions, gathering more than 250 points or 1.5 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange now sits just above the 16,760-point plateau and it's called to open higher again on Wednesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is flat to slightly higher, with apprehension reigning over the outlook for interest rates. The European and U.S. markets saw mild upside and the Asian markets figure to follow that lead.

The TSE finished modestly higher on Tuesday following gains from the plastic and cement sectors, while the financials and technology stocks were mixed.

For the day, the index gained 47.23 points or 0.28 percent to finish at 16,761.66 after trading between 16,699.83 and 16,793.81.

Among the actives, Mega Financial lost 0.54 percent, while Fubon Financial collected 0.32 percent, E Sun Financial improved 0.76 percent, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company advanced 0.90 percent, United Microelectronics Corporation sank 0.79 percent, Hon Hai Precision shed 0.47 percent, Largan Precision retreated 1.53 percent, Catcher Technology fell 0.27 percent, MediaTek dipped 0.26 percent, Delta Electronics skidded 1.10 percent, Novatek Microelectronics strengthened 1.48 percent, Formosa Plastics gained 0.43 percent, Nan Ya Plastics added 0.64 percent, Asia Cement perked 0.11 percent, Taiwan Cement eased 0.13 percent, China Steel climbed 1.01 percent and CTBC Financial, First Financial and Cathay Financial were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is cautiously optimistic as the major averages spent much of Tuesday bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line, finally finishing with slight gains.

The Dow rose 10.42 points or 0.03 percent to finish at 33,573.28, while the NASDAQ added 46.99 points or 0.36 percent to close at 13,276.42 and the S&P 500 picked up 10.06 points or 0.24 percent to end at 4,283.85.

Traders remained reluctant to make significant moves as they continue to look ahead to next week's Federal Reserve meeting.

The Fed is due to announce its latest monetary policy decision next Wednesday, with the central bank widely expected to pause its recent series of interest rate hikes.

Crude oil prices slumped Tuesday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand due to economic slowdown and interest rate hikes. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for July fell $0.41 or 0.6 percent at $71.74 a barrel.

Closer to home, Taiwan will provide May figures for imports, exports and trade balance later today. Imports are expected to sink 18.0 percent on year after dropping 20.2 percent in April. Exports are called lower by an annual 18.2 percent after shedding 13.3 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is pegged at $3.70 billion, down from $6.71 billion a month earlier.